In an attempt to transform the manufacturing sector in China, the country’s State Council has planned a comprehensive development program. Wang Liming, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industrial and Information Technology (MIIT) mentioned that the program titled “Made in China 2025” will target 10 industries and bring a number of developmental changes in them. The program is also expected to throw tough challenges to the traditional manufacturing industries in China. According to the reports by Beijing’s Economic Observer, the government aims to upgrade and transform the chosen industries in a span of 10 years. The list of the targeted industries include those producing aerospace equipment, marine engineering gear and ships, high-end computer numerical control machine tools and robots, advanced rail transit equipment, electricity equipment, high-performance medical equipment, farming machinery, energy-saving automobiles, and biopharmaceuticals.

The officials at MIIT revealed that throughout the next decade, the chosen industries will get the ministry’s policy and financial support for company reforms and technical upgrades. Robots and intelligent manufacturing systems will be the first industry where the program will be implemented. The “Made in China 2025 Planning Guideline” will be a comprehensive middle- and long-term strategy for the industrial development of the nation.

Presently, the Chinese economy is witnessing the slowest growth in 25 years and the manufacturing sector has been affected by over-production and doubled investment. However, the MIIT officials are optimist about the positive industrial growth in the range of 7%-8% in the coming days. The average industrial growth was around 15.4% during the period between 2003 and 2011. According to the data provided by MIIT, in 2014, China accounted for more than 50% of the world’s total output of cement, automobiles, power-generating equipment, mobile phones, chemical fibers, raw steel and computers. Though Wang admitted that the industrial production has been slowing down, he attributed this to production glut faced by some of the raw material manufacturers which has led to the overall decrease in the output.